Patricia’s Story

First of all I would like to thank UBCF for the help you give to breast cancer patients as it surely took me off guard at a very bad time in my life.

I gave up my fitness business and moved into an apartment after being married 25 years and having a nice home. I looked for a job in Indianapolis for months until I found out I had breast cancer in June 2007. A lumpectomy quickly followed with 6 weeks of radiation. I tried to work in October and found myself physically too weak to do my job at Fed Ex. I went on COBRA health insurance, which was very costly.

So I waited until the first of 2008 to look for work again and found nothing as I have no schooling or marketable skills being 54 yrs. old. At this point, March 2008, I decided to move back to my home state of Minnesota where I would have support from family and friends here.

I was living off the proceeds of the sale of our home which I wanted to save so I could buy a house in Minnesota. Then wham….almost a year to the date, July 2008, my cancer had returned but this time I was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer as it had gone into a couple of my lymph nodes, my outer skin and another tumor or two. Several types of chemo were tried on me until they hit on the right one in October I started to get some relief from the pain of the skin lesions.

December 17th I had a bi-lateral mastectomy at the Mayo Clinic and quickly running out of money I had saved for a house. I had written for several grants to help with medical expenses or my health insurance payments and received only $125.00 from Cancer Care. I learned about UBCF through a link with the American cancer society on the net and decided to apply with them. I received the application shortly and got it sent back just as soon. Asking for help with just my health insurance so I would not lose it and I was approved!!!

June of 2009, I again had the bad news of cancer returning. With the help of this grant and my local hospital helping me with the co-pay, I was able to stay off medical assistance. Never in my life would I have thought I would be in that situation. I now know that I must be positive in this negative prognosis and live each day to it’s best!